


(i need you darling) so come go with me

by makeitbetter



Category: The Beatles (Band)
Genre: M/M, it's a modern uni au, john pines and paul is dense, scattered mentions of various beatle related people throughout
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-22
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:47:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26045221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/makeitbetter/pseuds/makeitbetter
Summary: "you don’t even have to go with a date. you can hang around with paul for the night; he’s not going with a date either.”“oh, thanks,” john replies dryly, and paul tries not to take that too personally, what with the amount of times his best friend has already refused to have any part in this prom thing. it’s almost getting to the point of bordering on ridiculousness./(or: they're in love and can't use their words, and that's really all there is to say)
Relationships: John Lennon/Paul McCartney
Comments: 4
Kudos: 37





	(i need you darling) so come go with me

**Author's Note:**

> this is short and kind of ugly, but i'm still so soft for them and i still can't use capital letters. 
> 
> [title is from this song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hF8URFxNx40)

two weeks before, and it’s all over the university facebook page that’s up on john’s laptop, digital banners in shades of gold and bright blue to advertise prom for the end of the year -- the end of their university life altogether, for some of them.

“looks fun,” paul says when he reads it over his best friend’s shoulder during a lecture, which seems like a harmless enough comment until he notices the look on john’s face.

“what’s so fun about it? we already have fun on friday nights, anyway.”

“hanging out in pete best’s garage every friday isn’t what everyone calls fun,” george replies from two seats away (he _has_ got a point, paul thinks).

john merely grumbles in response -- spins his laptop around and pushes it towards ringo to get his opinion, and that appears to be the end of that.

(for now.)

/

“why don’t you ask someone?” ringo asks john, ten days before the big day, as they sit around in paul’s tiny, student-accommodation-provided bedroom, music playing low in the background and coursework out in front of them. “you know people would go with you. what about your friend from the art society, yoko? she’d say yes, if you asked.”

“i don’t need a pity date, thanks,” john bites back, lounging on paul’s bed like it’s his own, notebook open in front of him, pen in one hand and phone in the other. he’s wearing a shirt that paul is pretty sure is actually _his_ shirt, but john is the one who has worn it soft, to the point where it looks better on him than it does on paul, and paul can’t say he really minds that -- or minds any excuse he can give himself for looking at john.

“you don’t _need_ to ask someone,” george points out.

“only a lad with someone to ask would say that,” john replies, because they all know how much effort george went to last week in order to ask pattie to go with him.

george shrugs, and then glances towards paul like he’s waiting for some backup on this one.

“i don’t think i’ll ask anyone,” paul interjects, trying to sound as casual as possible about it. “there’ll probably be other people i know there, anyway.”

“see?” george says, his point now proven, but john doesn’t appear to be listening to him.

“what?” he rolls onto his stomach and props himself up on his elbows to look at paul properly. “don’t tell me you’re _actually_ thinking of going.”

“it could be fun,” paul says in response, which is pretty much the same thing he’d said when the prom came up in conversation to begin with, and, again, john doesn’t look impressed with that answer. if anything, he looks downright irritated.

“whatever,” he replies, tone curt now, and goes back to aimlessly doodling along the margins in his notebook.

ringo raises a confused eyebrow, and paul shrugs, no answer to give him.

/

“you _sure_ you won’t come with us? stu and astrid are going,” ringo says, two days before friday, yet another attempt to try to tempt john into giving in. “brian’s going. even pete is going. you don’t even have to go with a date. you can hang around with paul for the night; he’s not going with a date either.”

“oh, thanks,” john replies dryly, and paul tries not to take that _too_ personally, what with the amount of times his best friend has already refused to have any part in this prom thing. it’s almost getting to the point of bordering on ridiculousness.

“why don’t you want to go?” he asks, when they’ve parted ways with ringo and taken their usual seats at the back of their afternoon class.

“why do _you_ want to go?” john fires back.

“it’s just for a laugh, isn’t it?”

john says nothing in response to that, too busy making a show of getting his laptop and textbook out his bag as if to avoid looking at him. paul wonders, briefly, for a moment, if he should agree to not go after all, if he should spend friday night with john like he always does -- and, somehow, it clicks, the answer to his first question suddenly obvious.

“we could go together, y’know.”

“isn’t that what ringo said?”

“as a date,” paul specifies, watching as john’s eyes flash to him and widen in -- what? shock? confusion, maybe, but not any kind of disgust at the idea. “a proper one. how ‘bout it?”

“really?”

“yeah,” paul replies, and then nods to reaffirm his answer. “yeah, if you want to.”

john studies him for another long moment, before paul notices the ghost of a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth, a smile that he’s not quite able to hold back.

“alright, then.”

“alright, then,” paul agrees, and turns to face the front of the room, warm with the feeling of the smiles john keeps shooting him out of the corner of his eye and wondering where the hell he’s actually going to get a _suit_ from at such short notice.


End file.
